As I look around the city and see new construction stretching from bustling downtown to sleepy little neighborhoods I can’t help but wonder how each place is going to draw the attention of the masses.  Get a foothold.  Take a step forward and get noticed.  The responsible (and fashionable) way to do it is to go green, but as we see more and more of that the green buildings even start to fade into the city’s backdrop.

So what can a developer do to stand out right now?  To get their foot in the door of Portland’s heart?  To make a name for their building in our fair city?  Well, I guess they could let our fair city make a name for them.  It’s an interesting take on getting civic pride and involvement and it’s just what one building in SW Portland is doing.

The building at SW 12th and Washington wants PDX to Name That Building and they’re dangling some pretty tantalizing rewards in front of the person who comes up with the name that’s chosen.  Beth Forsman from the Metropolitan group writes in an email

…first place names the building and is the key guest for the opening party. Second place names the eco-roof and can host the first party there and the third names the film studio (which will be lit in neon) and, again, is able to host a viewing party there. All winners have their personal names featured on plaques, making them a permanent fixture in Portland’s architecture!

The contest starts tomorrow, July2 and winners will be announced on August 6 at a First Thursday party.  If you’re interested you can go to pdxnamethatbuilding.com (starting tomorrow) for more information. Name well Portlanders.

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photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by dieselboi

Today, TMT development, Tom Moyer’s company that brought us the Fox Tower, announced they will stop construction on their second tower downtown for 9 months at the cost of 350 jobs. You may know this space – a huge hole in the ground just west of Nordstroms between the MAX tracks. Get used to a huge crane and a half-built parking garage because it is going to be that way for awhile. They state they will start back up again in 2010….we’ll see.

I understand the whys behind the decision. In today’s economy, everyone is cutting back on expenses and if a company has office space, they may choose to stay put and re-negotiate the lease instead of move to the tonier part of town. While TMT states the space is 55% leased, there is still the issue of credit for ongoing construction.

I lived in post-Soviet Armenia in the early 90’s as part of the Peace Corps. While in the capital city, I was always amazed at the many uncompleted structures that dotted the city. The material and the equipment was there, but the sites were shuttered and had been for awhile. This was throughout the downtown area. That is what happens when an economy goes haywire and gets turned upside down.

Is that what we’re in for? Will we begin to see other half finished construction projects just stop for lack of funds? The city dotted with cyclone fencing around holes in the ground or abandoned structures awaiting demolition that will never happen? I hope not, but I don’t think that is my call.

What if they stopped MAX construction mid-stream due to funding cuts? Lots of potholes…

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Hotel by tshieldspdx

Everyone is invited to share Portland photography with the OurPDX community by participating in the OurPDX Flickr group.

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SE Morrison Street is a bit of a trial right now between about 12th and 6th. Two of the three lanes are closed for a while (months? I think?) while the sewer is dug up and replaced. In attempt to ease the snarl, the city has placed a big ol’ sign up on the sidewalk that says:

“USE BUS LANE”

Except that, the three times I’ve gone through there (I live nearby), no one is. Thus I feel like a big ol’ jerk as I use the bus lane and pass a stationary line of cars a block and a half long. Am I being a jerk here? Is it necessary in Portland to be so nice as to not even use the bus lane when we’re told to do so? Is the sign too small or otherwise suffering from low visibility? Is this just a crisis of the over-polite?

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